


Boot Polish

by TheAwfulDodger



Series: Giddy'up [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cookies, Crack Treated Seriously, Dammit Westfahl, Dehumanization, HYDRA Trash Party, Other, Plotbunnies, Pony Play, Sorry Not Sorry, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 17:29:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10253033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAwfulDodger/pseuds/TheAwfulDodger
Summary: Follows after Saddle Soap. Murphy's take on the oppression of equines...





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hyperthetical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyperthetical/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Hunter Class](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3797596) by [Hyperthetical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyperthetical/pseuds/Hyperthetical). 



> Another thank-you bit of fic, brought on by plotbunnies nibbling my ankles (and 20+ years of owning/training/riding horses)!

When Murphy stepped into the breakroom, it was almost deserted. Almost, because there was a grunt pushing a broom, and Westfahl was sitting at a table at the far end of the cafeteria. His head was in his hands and he looked like he was nursing a hangover. The table in front of him was covered in an old newspaper, and two riding boots were sitting on it. A tin of black shoepolish, a cloth and a brush were next to it.  
Murphy grimaced inwardly and poured two cups of coffee instead of one before he made his way over. He put both cups down and slid one over towards Westfahl. 

“Hang on, Anders said she left us some stroopwafels.” He offered over his shoulder as he headed to the little kitchenette. And sure enough, there was a plate of the delicious caramel filled waffles sitting in a cupboard, covered in Saran wrap. A post-it note was stuck to the covering, saying “HANDS OFF. Property of STRIKE team Alpha. That means YOU, STRIKE team Bravo!”. Murphy smiled and pulled the post-it off. On the back it said “Murphy, these are with margarine instead of butter, that makes them vegan, right? A.”

Smiling happily, Murphy pocketed the note and unwrapped the plate of cookies. They smelled delicious! He also grabbed some sugarcubes and the coffeecreamer, and stuffed two spoons in his pocket before joining Westfahl at the table.

Westfahl rubbed his face before he raised his head and looked at Murphy, leaving a smear of shoepolish on the bridge of his nose. He looked tired. Murphy shoved the plate under his nose and dumped the spoons into the coffee cups, splashing a little over the side. He doctored his coffee with enough sugar to make his dentist cry before stirring it and taking a sip.

Westfahl took a stroopwafel from the plate and sunk his teeth in it, moaning a little as he did so.

“Man, Pierce was serious about his equestrian venture! Those poor horses, no better than slaves...” Murphy offered, giving the polished riding boot a glare. Apparantly, Westfahl was halfway through polishing, because the other boot still needed to be shined to perfection. Murphy leaned to the side a little to peer at the portable weapons locker that was shoved into the corner haphazadly. It was exactly the same as the ones used to store the Asset’s weapons and armor, a big metal lockbox on industrial wheels. 

Westfahl grunted around his mouthful of baked goods, pouring coffeecreamer into his mug. “I thought I was done, but he wanted his boots polished too. His fucking boots!”

“I mean, no actual horses were involved so I guess that’s okay, but still, it’s supporting a system that oppresses intellectual beings. Horses are smart and deserve better!” Murphy offered, but he got nothing from Westfahl except another grunt around a mouth full of caramel and wafer.

“The least he can do is go bitless, I mean, there a so many alternatives these days, there’s HappyMouth but artificial apple flavor and space age polymers don’t actually make it any friendlier, and ofcourse side-pulls and bosals...”

Westfahl swallowed his last bite of stroopwafel and took the polishing brush to the second boot with a renewed fire.

“... which work just fine, so bits are just unnecessarily cruel and very last century, and just a symptom of a system in desperate need of renewal. People don’t take the oppression of these fine magestic creatures seriously...”

Westfahl said nothing and kept polishing like it would save his life.

“...and we know how well the Asset responds to pressure, I mean, look at its armor, that thing just calms it the fuck down, like a Thundershirt, so I guess a side-pull or a bosal would work just as well on it, though I wonder if the pressure points on a human nose and jaw match the one on a horse’s...”

The second boot was slammed down on the newspaper quite violently at that, brush clatterering next to it, as Westfahl focused his glare on Murphy instead of the boot. Murphy was feeling up his own jawline, trying to locate any relevant pressure points, and looked a little suprised at the sudden intensity of Westfahl’s stare. 

“If you want to go to Pierce and make –suggestions- about the Asset’s equipment, by all means Murphy, be my guest, your funeral!” He grabbed the other boot and turned sideways to open the equipment locker. Murphy’s eyes followed his movements as he opened the door and stuffed the boots inside.

“Holy shit is that a curb chain?!” Murphy was out of his seat in an instant, shoving Westfahl aside and shoving his hands into the mess of leather straps that hung inside. He gingerly ran a finger over the bit and its attached chain, mumbling something about medieval torture devices and poor horses and pounds of pressure. Westfahl just grabbed his wrist, pulled his hand out of the locker and slammed the door shut.

“Murph, I mean it, if you have a problem, stuff it or go talk to Pierce if you’re feeling suicidal. But you know just as well as I do that the Asset is a murder machine and a little shit at that, and if Pierce wants to get his rocks off playing dressup with it, he better keep it on a tight leash or the fallout will be epic...”

Murphy scoffed as Westfahl locked up the equipment locker, but sat back down and grabbed another one of Anders’ delicious stroopwafels.

“...and besides, it’s not like it’ll remember it anyway.” Westfahl finished, joining Murphy at the table again, and wrapping his hands around his coffee mug in a way that spoke of bone-deep tiredness.

Murphy took another bite of the stroopwafel. 

“Still could’ve used a bosal... Damn, these are delicious!”

**Author's Note:**

> Anders may have replaced the butter, but there is cream in the caramel, so the stroopwafels aren't actually vegan. She tried, though :). If anyone wants a (non-vegan) recipe, give me a shout!
> 
> HappyMouth bits are plastic, apple flavored bits designed for horses that do not 'take' the bit. They work, but they smell kinda funky and artificial to me.
> 
> A bosal is a ring made of leather or rawhide braiding that loosely hangs around a horse's nose from a strap behind their ears. It is connected to a mecate, a horsehair rope/rein that is knotted to the center bottom. It allows a rider to steer the horse by exterting very gentle pressure on the nose, but mostly from the feeling of the reins against the neck.
> 
> A side-pull is a bitless system with straps crossing underneath the horse's chin. If you pull the left rein, there is pressure on the right side of the nose, The horse learns to avoid the pressure by moving left.
> 
> A curb chain is connected to the bit and goes underneath the chin. The bit forms a kind of lever, when you pull the reins, the bit tilts forward, putting pressure behind the ears and drawing the chain up against the underside of the chin. You can exert a lot of pressure on the jawbones that way, and there are a lot of friendlier alternatives (for instance, a leather strap instead of a chain). I don't know if you can actually get this to work on a human, but let's say it does, for the sake of Hydra trashiness. Same goes for the sidepull and the bosal, I have no idea whether you can get those to work on a human...


End file.
